A Few Missing Pieces
by ArcherHawkeye
Summary: Sequel to Lover's Memory. Yaoi/OCxCloud. Reno is having trouble gaining the missing pieces of his life back. Is it all worth it? Or is getting back what he lost as inevitable as death?
1. New Mission

**As stated in the Summary, Sequel to Lover's Memory here, but it can be a stand alone in most ways. Another repost from my old account, I am aware. Lol. I'm gonna post this one in the chapter order, though. Haha. Well, enjoy. REMEMBER! REVIEWS = LOVE!**

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><p>A week after Reno had woken up, Kallin was sitting on the couch, her laptop, conveniently, sitting on her lap, when Zack came out of his room. She looked up as he went to the kitchen, unawares of her presence until he came out of the kitchen. When he realized she was sitting so contentedly, he jumped, almost dropping his soda.<p>

"What are you doing here. Kallin?" he stopped, then gave a confused work. "Better yet, how the hell did you get in?"

Kallin looked up with a droll look, then down at her clothes. "Uhhh…the suit should tell you _how_, Zack. And for the _what_, Seph and you have a mission and Tseng asked if I would stay with Reno while you were gone." she closed her eyes and sighed. "I know you don't like that, but-"

"And how long will I be gone?" Zack asked sharply, gaining a sigh from his sister.

"I don't know. I wasn't given details. I just came to do my job." Kallin replied, keeping her tone rather even despite wanting to knock the SOLDIER on his ass where he stood.

"Well, what the hell, sis?" Zack said a little loudly before going to shut the bedroom door. No need to wake Reno just yet. He quickly returned and sat on the couch opposite her. He watched her play on her computer for a long moment before he spoke up. "Take care of him, okay?"

"You can trust me." Kallin said with a small smile, glancing up from her game. "You know I'd trust Cloud with you if it were me." her voice was a little fragile as she finished, but the point came across.

Zack nodded, then stood with a sigh. "Alright. Give me a minute." He ran his hands down his face as he glanced at her.

"Mhmm." Kallin replied, focused on the game she was playing on her laptop once more.

Zack watched her a moment, and he could see the pain, the fear that she played off with a fake smile. Ecstatic that Reno had resurfaced from the lifestream, he hadn't talked to her much about how Cloud was doing. It made him feel bad, deep down, that in his joy he had forgotten his sibling's pain. But he didn't have time to mull it over. He had to pack and get out before Reno woke up or he would never leave. This thought in mind, he turned and went back to the bedroom, pausing at the door.

Reno lay sleeping silently, but Zack knew from experience that a stampeding herd of elephants wouldn't wake the redhead. He leaned against the door and watched his boyfriend sleep for a long while, smiling softly at the sight. The male's hair wasn't tied back, so it fell in a tousled mess about his head. His pale skin was set off by the dark sheets, and a small smile was playing his lips as he lay so peacefully in dreamland. He stared a moment, sighing quietly as he went to get his bag. He packed quietly, silently cursing the timing of the mission. Rufus' father could go to hell for this one. Standing up from the dresser, he looked back at the bed. His heart dropped as he watched his love sleep so carefree. With a heavy sigh, he went to where Reno lay sleeping, wanting one last thing before he would be yanked from Reno for a while. Kneeling by the bed, he gently brushed red hair from the male's eyes. He watched the Turk's face, then leaned in and laid a gentle kiss on Reno's lips. "I'll be back, Red. I love you."

Kallin looked up as Zack came out. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him." she said, smiling.

Zack smiled slightly. "I trust you will." he assured. "But don't forget to take care of yourself." He saw the sad smile that graced her lips as he walked from his room and down to get briefed...

The sun was splayed across the bed when Reno woke up. He rolled away from it at first, but upon realizing it was too bright, he groaned and sat up, the comforter slipping down his chest as he did so. Shaking his head, he looked over to find Zack gone. He blinked and stretched, then rolled from the bed and dressed. Maybe he was watching tv or something. "Zack?" he inquired, stepping from the bedroom, his head poking from behind the door. Almost instantly the suit-clad girl on the couch sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"He got called for a mission." Kallin said from the couch, rubbing one eye as she stretched. Reno stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

"How'd you-"

"I'm a Turk, Reno." Kallin cut him off. "Just like you, so don't ask." She looked up here, giving a faint smile. "Zack asked me ta stay with you while he's gone." she said, half-lying. Zack wasn't the only one who had asked her to take care of him; but he was the only one that mattered.

Reno paused, watching her with slightly wide blue-green eyes. "He's…gone?" his voice was actually a little scared.

Kallin blinked, then sighed, standing to go stand by the redhead. "Just for a little while, Reno. He'll be back, I promise." she assured, laying a hand on his back. "It'll be okay, alright?"

Reno wouldn't have believed her, but the grin spreading her lips convinced him to trust her words. "Alright." He replied. "But what are you doing here?"

"Were you not listening, Reno?" Kallin asked. "I'm doing what Zack asked me to. Now are you gonna remember that or do I have to beat it into your head?" She chuckled as she went back to the couch and sat down, looking at him as she turned the tv on.

Reno blinked. Hadn't he heard that line before? Shaking it off, he decided to change the subject. "So...how's…" he couldn't recall the name.

"Cloud?" Kallin prompted.

Reno nodded, gaining an understanding smile. "Is he okay?"

"He…hasn't woken up yet…" Kallin whispered softly, looking down. She fiddled with the cuff of her suit jacket and then gave a sad smile.

Her tone and the way her eyes shifted clued him in that the question wasn't the best one to ask in the situation. "Hey, I'm sorry, yo."

"No, it's okay. I just…I worry about him. The way Zack worried about you." Kallin assured. "He's been out a week longer than you were, and he hasn't responded to anything. I…I keep hoping that I'm gonna get a call from Tseng and he'll be awake. But no, the Lifestream still has him in full tow." She looked up at him. "But I wake up, do my job, and go to sleep at night, hoping that soon he'll be able to pull away from the Lifestream's hold on him." The sad smile curving her lips showed her faith in the blonde SOLDIER. Reno couldn't help but stare. He felt as if he should comfort her, like it was his job, but he didn't know how. It left him dumbfounded, confused, and above all pissed off. "But that's not the point. I'm here to hopefully trigger a few things. Least that's what I hope to do." Kallin said as she turned the tv off and stood up. "Shall we go get a drink?"

"A drink?"

"Yeah. I know of good place in Sector 3." Kallin answered with a grin. "Great drinks. Come with?"

"Uhhh...yeah, sure." Reno said, watching her a moment. "Shall we go?"

"Yeah, I'll take you now." Kallin smiled and nodded once as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a set of car keys, no doubt hers, and started for the door. "Come on, Reno." She said, leading the way to her older bodied mustang convertible. Reno stared openly at the magnificent car. He couldn't believe a chick had a car like this and it was in good shape! He followed and got in quietly, sitting in the seat before the car started and he realized he knew the song that was playing. "Gaga, Kallin?" he asked, before he froze, eyes wide as something ran through his mind.


	2. Do You Remember?

**Do hope everyone is ready for this! =] And I hope you enjoy it! Teehee. Remember, REVIEWS = LOVE!**

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><p>"<em>Oh seriously, you should just tell him and get it the hell over with, Reno." Kallin said, shaking her head as she walked alongside a blonde, their fingers intertwined as the pair walked with Reno to Zack's apartment. <em>

_"Like hell, Kallin." Reno retorted, hands in his jacket pockets. "There's no way in Shiva's sake your bro would actually care about me like that."_

_"Why, cuz you're supposed to be a lady's man?" the blonde teased. _

_"Shut up, Blondie!" the redhead snapped, and the blonde chuckled._

_"Cloud, behave." Kallin playfully scolded, leaning into the blonde's hold._

_"And __I'm __the lady's man." Reno mumbled, shaking his head as they came up to Zack's door. Reaching up to knock, Zack burst from the door after a single tap._

_"Hey guys!" the ravenette chimed with a huge smile. "Let's get going! I can't wait."_

_"Someone spike your water, Fair?" Reno asked._

_"Say wha-?" Zack inquired._

_"Ignore him, Zack. He just lost an argument with Cloud and I." Kallin said, rolling her eyes._

_"Seriously? Ya gotta let that slide off your shoulder, Red." Zack grinned as he hugged Reno, the embrace a brief second longer than most hugs before he pulled back and looked at where Cloud and Kallin stood. "Well then, shall we go?"_

_"Yep." Kallin nodded and headed out to the garage where her car was, starting it and turning on the radio to play 'That Body' by Jeremih. _

_"You listen to Jeremih, Kallin?" Reno asked._

_"Duh, Reno. I do go clubbing, Gaia." Kallin rolled her eyes as she put the car in gear._

"Reno!" a voice registered in Reno's ears and he cringed from the sudden reality. Groaning, he let his eyes open a little. "Oh, dear Gaia, talk about heart attack!" Kallin griped, sitting back on her knees.

"The hell?" Reno groaned, slowly sitting up.

"You blacked out on me! All of a sudden. What the hell happened? Did you not sleep well enough?" Kallin watched him with wary eyes of lavender, head tilted.

Reno looked at her. He then reached out and placed a hand on Kallin's forehead. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, what about you?" Kallin asked, cocking an eyebrow at him and pulling away from his touch.

"I'm not sure…" Reno blinked. "Over the last week, it's like…" he paused, looking down at the floor. "Like I'm living someone else's life, yo. I hate that. I've lived it once…back in the slums…"

"Slum life is hard." Kallin looked down at this, sighing. "Come on, let's go for a walk. You can tell me about the last week. I haven't been able to monitor your progress." She stood and held her hand out to him, helping him up before heading for the door. Reno followed silently, walking alongside her. "So what's happened over the last week?"

"Not much to tell, yo." Reno shrugged, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets as he walked. "Nothing's really changed. I mean, I'm getting to where I can remember names, but other than that, I can't say if they're a friend or foe of mine. Y'know?" They walked on to the gates and out into one of the few places left in Midgar that was green.

"That's typical of amnesia." Kallin said softly, listening.

"I've remembered a few things, and I mean a few." Reno sighed. "It's irritating, yo."

"I could understand. A whole life vanished." Kallin paused as they came to a bridge over looking a river. Leaning forward on her forearms, she stared out at the water. "So tell me what you've remembered."

"The mission we were all on before all this." Reno said. "And Zack's party that you and your guy threw when he got into 1st Class."

"That party was hell on my apartment." Kallin grinned.

"Because we played charades and Zack fell off the couch?"

"That would be part of it," Kallin laughed. "Another part would be that you and Zack brought all that alcohol."

"All of us were so wasted." Reno laughed softly. "And that time we all went to the club?"

"You actually remember that?" Kallin looked at him, tilting her head, her tone shocked.

"Not all of it. That came back not too long ago. When I blacked out on you." Reno shrugged, standing with his back to the rail. "And not all of it. Just to the point where we got to the club."

"That's because after that you and Zack got so fricking drunk you were making out on the dance floor." Kallin chuckled. "Cloud and I had to drag your drunk asses back to Zack's place and make sure you went to bed." Her chuckle turned into a quiet laugh. "Like a couple of babysitters."

"Zack says you hate babysitting, though."

"I do, believe me. Watching kids is the worst job ever imagined. I have no idea who the hell would wanna put themselves through the torture." Kallin sighed.

"I'm guessing you don't want kids, yo?" Reno asked, looking at her.

Kallin shrugged. "Not particularly. I mean, this business isn't the best place for a kid anyway, so it keeps me deterred from the whole kid-scenario crap every other female here seems to be obsessed with." She smiled faintly as Reno chuckled. "So do you remember anything else?" she looked out over the water again as she spoke.

Reno sighed. "Nope. Isn't it fucking retarded that I can't remember anything but what little I have in a week?" He looked straight at her, gaining a sigh.

"Sometimes amnesia does that, Reno." She explained. "In some cases, it only takes a few days, in others, a few years, before the forgotten memories return." Her voice shook a little as she spoke, letting Reno know that the idea of a certain person not having a full memory really scared her.

"How are you taking it all?" he asked, turning to place his palms on the railing and look out at the river as a few kids ran up to the bank and started throwing rocks in.

"Taking what?" Kallin asked, running a hand underneath her eyes.

"Me being up and your boy not." Reno answered.

"Not a good place for this to be brought up, Red." Kallin replied, sighing and shoving off the rail to start back the way they'd come. Reno rolled his eyes and followed her.

"Come on, Kallin." He said. "Keeping everything in is bad for ya, yo."

"You sound like Tseng." Kallin retorted, arms now crossed.

"Boss?" Reno asked as he paused, not knowing why.

"Yep. Guess it's time you met him again." Kallin sighed and led him on to a room where a blonde girl sat behind a desk.

"Kallin." The girl said.

"Elena. I'm here to see Tseng." Kallin replied, nodding to the girl.

"He was wondering when you'd come by." Elena said, nodding towards the door.

With a nod of her own, Kallin motioned for Reno to follow her. "Come along then, Red." She called.

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><p><em><strong>Gaia, I love cliffies. lol<strong>_


	3. Perspective

_**Heya! Cyn here. I found the drive with my incompletes and reposts! :3 So happy I did. So here's chapter three of AFMP. Hope you enjoy it. Remember, Reviews = Love~**_

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><p><strong>Kallin's POV:<strong>

Okay, no one told me that I'd be walking into my boss' office and have a fellow Turk behind me with amnesia. Opening the door to Tseng's office, I let Reno enter in front of me. "I know this was unannounced, Commander, but I thought it-"

"It's alright, Kallin." Tseng interrupted me, motioning for Reno and I to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. Sighing softly, I did as subtly instructed and took a seat, leaning back against the leather of the chair and closing my eyes, praying that the events playing out before me with my brother's boyfriend would not repeat with my own. I listened silently as Tseng and Reno spoke to one another, not really paying attention to words or anything until the redhead's voice broke my zone as he cried out:

"Say what, yo?" Reno nearly screamed.

Blinking to re-zone myself, I was able to figure out what they'd been discussing. The possible outcomes of my brother's mission. Shaking my head slightly, I was taken by surprise when Reno grabbed my arm and stared at me.

"Did you know?" he asked.

"What do you mean by know?" I asked, being my usual calm self.

"Don't play dumb with me, yo." Reno answered back.

"What they're doing? No. That they were leaving? Yes. That it would be risky? It always is, only more so for us." I held greening blue/green eyes for a moment, not faltering at all in my own greening gaze.

"Kallin, calm down." Tseng murmured at me, catching my attention long enough for Reno to look away from me. I'd been told that the green of mako mixed with the original lavender of my eyes was a disturbing gaze to hold, and I'm beginning to think it's true.

"There's not a way to call him back?" Reno finally inquired.

"No, unfortunately, and I know how much that bothers you, Reno." Tseng watched the redhead warily as Reno plopped into his chair and sighed. It was then Tseng looked at me. "How's the amnesia?"

I looked at where Reno sat deflated by the news, and I was thankful I had tuned out. Worrying for my brother was always an issue, but I tried not to know too much on his missions, even though he tried to get every little detail when it came to me. "I don't think I should answer that, sir. It's Reno's case, not mine." As I glanced back at the redhead, I caught a gaze of slight gratefulness, but the underlying concern for Zack was there. Without moving my lips much, I mouthed a small 'It'll be okay' at him before his attention was on Tseng alone. I smiled a little, once more relaxing into the cushions as he explained to Tseng what he had to me. Breathing a little easier as they fell into a kind of friendly conversation I'd known them to have, so I started when my phone began buzzing with 'Angels on the Moon'. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. That was Zack's ringtone. Maybe Reno hadn't remembered that yet. By the simple, nonchalant way he glanced at me, I'd say not. Good, I could play this off. Sighing, I pulled the phone from my coat pocket and flipped it open. "Kallin." I said.

"Hey there, sis!" the cheerful voice echoed in my ear. "How're you?"

"Fine. And you?" I asked as I stood, grateful that my call volume was near silent. With the mako treatments Reno had missed, his senses weren't on their usual alert. With a simple nod to my superior, I walked out into the hall.

"Pretty good. It's all clear here. How's Reno?"

"Recovering." I replied. "Why?"

"Don't be a smartass. Reno's definitely rubbed off on you." Zack told me.

"Hardy-har-har, Zack." I smarted off, rolling my eyes. "But since you were able to clear up what you meant, he's getting a little more back."

I heard the relieved sigh on my brother's end of the line before he spoke up. "That's good to hear." Zack breathed.

"It's only coming in bits and pieces, Zack." I whispered. "At this rate, there's no doubt that it will takes at least 3 months for everything to come back."

"Hey, calm down. Be positive. The same thing won't happen to Spiky." Zack replied.

"I didn't say anything about Cloud." I retorted.

"Your tone did." Zack explained. "I know you're worried, sis. I know like no one else. You just have to believe, okay? Believe in him. Trust that he can win the battle he's in, like every other battle he's been in."

It wasn't until I heard the conversation behind the door to Tseng's office coming to a close that I realized my eyes had been forming rivers down my cheeks. With a small gasp, I wiped away the dreadful things and nodded. "I will, brother. I have to go now." I said.

"Take care, sis. And tell Reno I said I love him."

"Will do, Zack. Bye." With that said, we hung up and I turned back to look at Elena, who was looking at me with concerned eyes. "What?"

"Are you okay?" Elena asked me.

"Why wouldn't I be, Ellie?" I asked.

"I'm not like everyone else." Elena replied. "I know you're going through hell watching Reno try to get back his life while your lover is still in a coma, Kallin." Even though I hated to admit it, I knew Elena was right. I was struggling to keep the steady composure I'd had all day. Maybe it was Gaia's way of biting me in the ass for not acting on the weird feeling I'd felt when I'd heard Reno and Cloud were both going on the mission that had put us where we were. Walking over to the desk, I smiled gently.

"You'd be right, Ellie." I answered. "It is hard going through all this. I mean, what could happen to Cloud?"

Elena smiled at me. "I don't know." She said. "But you have to have faith in what can be."

"You sound like Zack." I half-laughed. "But I try."

"It gets hard, that's understandable. I can't say that I know you're stress, though. So I won't."

How was it she understood so easily what I needed to hear? About that time I heard the office door open and Reno stepped out in a daze. "You okay, Red? Boss didn't do anything did he?" I looked behind him at the door where Tseng stood.

"He just blacked out for a minute, I do believe."

Hearing the words, I looked at Reno. "Did you remember anything?"

Blue/Green eyes met my own. "Yeah, Mynx." Reno said, giving an uneasy smile, which told me he was still in quite a daze from it. But I also knew he'd remembered a bit more than he had during his last black out, no one had called me mynx since…my eyes widened a fraction.

"Is everything back?"

**RENO'S POV:**

I shrugged a little. Why was Kallin so freaking worried ta begin with? It's not like I'm that little blonde bombshell she was with. For Shiva's sake, if the male was on my side of the fence, I'd have tapped that 20 different ways; a few of which are still only in the underground level. Too bad he wasn't and I was head over heels for Kallin's older brother. Guess some things work out in weird ways, seeing as Cloud and Kallin were an item long before Zack and me, yo. Crazy chic was always trying to pair me and Fair up. Come to think of it…she was the first person I'd called after Zack and I first decided we were together. Maybe she'd planned it out. Seemed like a typical Kallin thing to do. Brushing the thought aside, I looked at her with a grin.

"How about you? Your call go good?"

"Y-Yeah." The raven haired girl replied with a smile of her own, but I'm not stupid, yo. I knew she was hurt. Something had gone wrong, but she wasn't gonna say what. Least not yet. Wait, how the hell did I know that? Damn, I wish I understood this bullshit amnesia business. Zack's gone and Kallin's taking care of me. Fucking great, yo. I'd die before he got back if I had to keep looking after her the way Cloud always has to. What the fuck? Oh Gaia, this is gonna be the death of me, yo, I swear it.

"You look a little pale, Reno. Perhaps you should get some rest." Tseng told me, catching Kallin's attention before I could counter it.

"Let's get you home, Reno. You do need some rest, it's been a long day ya know." I couldn't say anything as I was dragged from the room to the elevator. Once on it, I became aware of Kallin murmuring something along the lines of 'I shouldn't have done that to him'.

"Who?" I asked, but Kallin merely shook her head.

"It's nothing, Reno. Don't worry about it."

Who the hell was she muttering about?

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><p><em><strong>AWWW Poor Reno. I loves him though. *kitty face* Anywho, anyone got any questions as to the plot twist? Cookies for you if you do!<strong>_


	4. Returning

**So, a little fun fact. The end f this story came from nowhere while I was in tech class one day. Yay for the boredom of high school. Rofl. **

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><p><strong>Reno's POV:<strong>  
>Kallin walked me to the apartment, silent as a fucking rock. She hadn't said a word since I'd asked her who she'd been talking about in the elevator. Somehow, I knew that wasn't right. Somehow, I knew some part of her was deeply distracted by Cloud's coma. And still, something was even more wrong. Like she knew something I didn't. Hell, that was the fucking deal with everyone I knew at this point. She gave me a quick hug as she ushered me into my apartment, then vanished down the hall. I closed my door and collapsed on my couch, planning on calling Zack to check on him, but everything blacked out…<p>

_A young boy was curled against my side. I was about 8, and I held the younger male close as I listened to the fight echoing from below us._

_"That boy is no child of mine!" my father was screaming at my mother, and I knew they were arguing about the child who whimpered against me, tears burning his sapphire blue/green eyes. _

_"How can you say that?" My mother screamed back. "Amile is yours! Just because you're unfaithful doesn't mean that I am!" There was a loud crash that was followed by my mother's scream, and I grabbed my brother and tugged him into the closet that was hidden in the wall of our bedroom. _

_"Don't worry, Amile. Father won't find us." I assured him. "I promise."_

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

_The pain was unbearable against my eyes and I struggled to stay under. At least until heard my brother's voice. Slowly, I opened my eyes to take in the view of a plain white ceiling, the kind with those stupid blocks of Styrofoam bullshit, y'know? Like…like a hospital. Shit. I tried to sit up, only to be pushed back. "I don't think so, Reno." Amile said softly. I looked at him, my eyes meeting his, his red/black hair falling in choppy layers about his face. In his lap was a young child, about four years old. My only niece, Yukina Sinclair. The sweetest, most loveable person I knew. I would do anything for her. Even kill myself, if that was what she wanted. My brother and his little girl were everything to me._

_"How's it hanging, bro?" I choked on the sentence, so all casualty was lost. Without a word, he reached over to the little food tray thing that the patients have, grabbing the cup of water that sat there, and passing it over to me._

_"You flat-lined for a few minutes."_

_I almost choked on the water when he said the words. "I was dead?"_

_"For about five minutes, yes." Amile said, tone blunt. He was at his wit's end, I could see it in his eyes. _

_"Sono spiacente." I muttered._

_"Why are you apologizing to me?" Amile asked. "Yuki was worried more than I was. She was finally able to get to sleep because I was singing to her."_

_"I'm sorry, man…" I rephrased._

_"Reno…mom and dad have disowned you." Amile managed. "Your drug problem has become too much for them."_

_"They never liked me anyway. Well, dad anyway."_

_"Yuki wants you to get better." Amile continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Will you do what she wants?"_

_"You know I will, Amile. You know how much Kina means to me."_

_"Go to rehab."_

_"…what?"_

_"Go. To. Rehab. Get better, for your niece."_

_I stared at him, but his gaze never faltered, never changed. He was serious. Which meant Yuki had bugged him about it. My hands were tied tightly behind my back by the little girl's heart. Reluctantly, I closed my eyes and nodded. "Okay, Amile. I'll go."_

_I heard him sigh and kiss the top of his little girl's head. "Thank you, Reno."_

__-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-__

_Ebony hair fell about a pale face as sapphire eyes glistened in the sun's light as the girl looked out the window impatiently before a gasp escaped her as she caught sight of me walking up the drive. "Daddy, Uncle Reno's home!" _

_From the window, I could see the male being spoken to raise his head, black/red hair falling about 4 inches past his shoulders, before chuckling at his 5 year old daughter and getting up to lead her to the door. Unlocking it, he let the girl toddle out to me, the child barely reaching waist high on me as she encased my legs with her tiny arms. "Reno." Amile said._

_"Hey there, Amile." I greeted. "See Yuki's gotten bigger."_

_"Uncle Reno, you okay now?" the little girl, Yuki, asked, looking up with curious sapphire eyes._

_I knelt down to pick the girl up. "Of course. You should be thanking your dad for that." At this, I looked at Amile with a small grin. "Thanks, little brother. It means a lot."_

_"You mean too much to me as my big brother for me to disown you like mom and dad did." Amile reached up to tap the pad of his pointer finger on his daughter's nose. "Yuki, why don't you go inside, get Michelangelo and set up for a movie."_

_Yuki gasped and clapped her hands happily. "Yay, movie! Can we watch Lion King, Daddy?"_

_Amile smiled and nodded. "Of course. But your Uncle has to stay here, okay?"_

_"AWH!" the little girl pouted._

_"Go on, Yuki. I'll be in in a minute, okay?" I smiled gently and rubbed my nose against the girl's, causing a bell-like laugh to escape the toddler. _

_"Okay, hurry ups!" she said as I knelt down to set her on her feet before she ran inside. She vanished into the confines of her home, leaving her father and I on the drive. Once she was out of earshot, I reached out and hugged Amile._

_"Thank you, bro." I whispered to him._

_"Not a problem. I'm not like mom and dad are." Amile said, smiling up at me. "Come on in."_

_"Won't Alisa have a problem with that?"_

_"No, she left."_

_"She…left?"_

_"Her old life was too tempting to her. She left about a month ago."_

_"Awh, I'm sorry, man. I shoulda been there for you and Kina."_

_"It's okay. You were getting better." Amile argued, leading the way to the door. _

_"About old lives…" I said as I crossed the threshold of the house and entered the front hallway. "I've got something to tell you."_

_Amile stopped and turned to look at me. "What is it, brother?"_

_"I…I'm joining up with Shin-Ra."_

_"Shin-Ra?"_

_"I'm going to train to be a Turk."_

_"A Turk?" Yukina said as she appeared, a small cat in her arms. "You're gonna protect people Uncle Reno?"_

_"I'm hoping so." I answered, smiling at her._

_"You'll be a good Turk, Reno." Amile said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You'll lead them one day, I know it."_

__-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-__

_"Say, Reno, come on!" Zack yelled as he raced ahead of me on the beach. "I wanna show you something!"_

_"The hell, Fair?" I yelled back, not as used to the rocky shoreline as he was, so I was trailing him a good 50 feet. He merely laughed at my expense and kept going, leading me down the shoreline to a more tree covered area. Then into the trees and up a hill to a large pool of water. "What…the…hell…yo?" I panted. "I'm not as equipped to this terrain as you, country boy."_

_"Such a city punk." Zack grinned as he stepped closer to the crystal blue/green water of the pool._

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Why don't you come see?" Zack grinned, and I felt my heart throb at the pure sight, For Shiva's sake, he was so damn tempting when he smiled like that. Before I realized what I was doing, I had sauntered over to where he stood, looking down into the pool of water. _

_"Wow…" I whispered._

_"Amazing, isn't it?" Zack asked. "One of the few places I have for me."_

_"Must get lonely…" I mumbled, tilting my head to stare at the water. The next thing I knew, warm hands were at my hips, and Fair was behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder so that his reflection seemed to merge with mine. The site of the rippling image made me smile gently. How I wished it could be real. _

_"Sometimes.." Zack mused. "But not always."_

_"How so?"_

_"I usually come here to think about someone." The SOLDIER replied, smiling a gentle smile, his chin still perched gracefully upon my shoulder._

_"Who, yo?"_

_"Take a close look at the water, Reno." Zack whispered. I blinked and stared at the water intently, like it was gonna jump out of its little spa-like pool and slap me in the fucking face._

_"Wha…?" I stared at my reflection._

_"Ti amo, Reno." Zack whispered in my ear. I knew what the phrase was, but I refused to believe it. No. Fucking. Way. I spun around fast enough to throw Zack's balance off, causing us to crash into the water as I captured his lips to-_

Gaia be damned, I don't know if it was the banging on the door that woke me up or the panicked screaming coming from the other side, but either way, I was on the floor face first and my replaying memory stopped, even though now I knew how it ended.

"Reno! Così aiutilo dio, if you don't open this door!" Kallin was screaming at me despite there being a 3 inch thick piece of wood and a couple dozen yards of air between us.

"_Oh, chiuda in su, I' venuta di m., maledetta!_" I retorted, rubbing my head as I stood up. 'Shut the hell up, I'm coming, damn' seemed a suitable come back for 'So help me God, if you don't open this door', right? "What is it for crying out loud, Kallin?"

"Che cosa è esso, per gridare fuori alto?" Kallin shrieked at me, gaping up at me, tears slipping down pale cheeks. "Tseng, Elena, Cissnei, me, _everyone_ has been calling your cell and searching the entire grounds for you! Zack's mission is over and they're coming home, but Eli was hurt. Tseng said that you-" she cut herself off before her eyes widened. "Conoscete che cosa sto dicendo?" She asked me.

"Yes, I understand you, deficient." I retorted again.

"I am not a moron, dumbass." Kallin stated. "So are you 100% Reno now, or broken-up-little-lost-Reno?"

"Last I checked, toots, I'm 100%. And I checked when I woke up about a minute ago." I remarked, using a name I knew she hated.

"Bastardo." She mumbled. "Let's get going."

I tagged along behind her. I remembered Eli. Poor guy was barely a Second Class. But he was continuous bundle of questions and statistics. As we appeared at the docks where our guys unloaded after missions, we easily spotted Zack, standing tall over the rest of the group, with the General not far away. Was Zack really that tall?

"Zack!" Kallin called, dashing away from me to tackle her brother. He almost fell because she hadn't slowed down enough by the time she made contact with him.

"Hey, kiddo!" Zack commented, hugging her before his eyes caught hold of me heading over. "Hey there, Angelo Splendido." He said, a name that the me of the time he was away would never have understood – Gorgeous Angel – the name he'd given me for returning his feelings. But I did now, and I knew what to say.

"Hey there, Demone Celestial." I replied, the name I'd given him for his insane way of dragging me to a pool in the backwoods of his hometown to tell me how he felt about me, with a smirk. Before anyone could react, Zack was there, pulling me against him, kissing me as if I'd been resurrected. I didn't complain, simply raising my arms to lace my hands in his hair. I didn't even hear a phone go off. I didn't hear anyone answer. But I did hear the crash of her cell phone and the gasped name.

"Cloud…"

Zack and I broke the instant Kallin's voice said that one thing. "What's wrong, sis?" Zack asked, watching her intently. He went to reach for her, but where his hand should have met her shoulder, he was met with air. "Something's wrong." He said, vanishing towards the infirmary, undoubtedly where the little ravenette had run off to in a split-fucking-second.

Coming up to the door to Cloud's room, Kallin was pacing in front of it, her eyes showing she was either extremely focused or deep in thought. "Kallin, yo-" I was interrupted by the infirmary door opening. "Okay, you may see him." The nurse said. Kallin bolted to the door and stood just inside the frame and put a hand to her mouth to muffle a sob. Following behind her, Zack and I saw why. Cloud was laying back against the pillows, eyes on the ceiling, humming a tune the four of us knew all too well.

"I don't need anyone else, it's only you. When you ask again, it's only you. Even if you already have another love, I can't forget you, I can't turn back around." Kallin sang softly in Wutainese.

"The moment my eyes began to burn, the moment my heart was captured by you, I have no regrets, I chose you. That's right, it's you." Cloud sang back, the only Wutainese that country boy would probably ever know. And to think it was all because the song they were singing was the one Cloud had told her how he felt while the four of us were at a club, dancing. As Kallin approached the bed and Cloud pulled her in next to him, and waved at Zack and I, did everything seem okay again. The soft harmony that Cloud and Kallin sang with their song echoed around the room. Everything had returned.


End file.
